I was looking at a bunch of the molokai solo pictures, and i saw a bunch of paddlers with the kialoa teva hoe. I was wondering if its a good paddle, and is it comparable to a makana alii? It seems popular enough for me to try it or buy it. I currently have a kialoa vana (the much heavier wood version of the paddle), but will be selling it soon. Any additional info would be great.
Submitted by ryim on Fri, 04/20/2012 - 12:45am
go check out the double bend Nehu from Kialoa. they have em at island paddler on kapahulu. just saw em a couple days ago. super nice and not such a huge blade. i've heard good reviews about them.
#1 Fri, 04/20/2012 - 9:10am
I think you probably saw at least four Nehu in the solo, won't list the guys, but I know of several. Agree with jc, the blade isn't as massive as teva hoe, ideal for a long race like solo.
#2 Fri, 04/20/2012 - 2:39pm
those are probably the ons i saw in the pictures, haha. and i will definitely check it out.
#3 Fri, 04/20/2012 - 9:57pm
actually there's lots of PNW guys paddling the Teva Hoe for solo...( GOTO, look what you started !!!) we recently brought in the Nehu for 2012 ( single bend) and agree with the comments above - ideal for long solo paddles
To break it down in in2.. here are some of blade sizes for the new Kialoa models against some of our old favorites.
Kialoa Otoro 107" (new)
Kialoa Axel II 108" (classic!)
Kialoa Nehu 111.25" (new)
Kialoa Lanikai 119" (legendary!)
Kialoa Teva Hoe 133" ( new)
choose wisely young Skywalker....
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#4 Mon, 04/23/2012 - 10:58am
you guys know if there is a double bend version of the Lanikai shape?
#5 Tue, 04/24/2012 - 1:39pm
They could make it for you but the angles would all be off. The shaft fits into the blade in just the right way to make the straight shaft version a 10 degree bend. The mold for the blades can't really be changed, so they could put a double bend shaft on, but it'd be just like paddling a 5 degree forward angle paddle.
#6 Tue, 04/24/2012 - 6:49pm
ah I see, I was just wondering because out of all the blade shapes that one felt the best to me. Just thought it would make a bad ass double bend. thanks
#7 Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:36pm
A few years ago someone posted they had a paddle that had the "wacky-shaft" and the Lanikai blade instead of the Axel or Hollyakala blade they usually come with. Looks like Kialoa now has the Wacky Nehu along with the Wacky Helium paddles on their site.
The blade molds may not be changed, but they do have different angles on the Nehu straight and the Nehu Double Bend blades. So they have two blade molds with different angles of the Nehu blade.
In terms of the shape of the Nehu and the Lanikai, they are almost identical. The length is the same at 18 inches with the width of the Lanikai at 9 5/8" and the Nehu at 9 5/16". The blade tip of the Nehu is more rounder while the Lanikai is more squared. Like the Teva Hoe, the Nehu has a pronounced hook at the tip. I notice the Nehu entry to be smoother than the Lanikai.
The newer blades from Kialoa now seem to come with a more pronounced dehydral (spine) along the blade face which In my experience make the blade move smoother though the water with less fluttering than the older blades.
#8 Tue, 04/24/2012 - 11:59pm